The one about us being @ Annual Conference......

Well, Tiffany and I are in our second day of Annual conference and it is all going well. It is amazing how many people know that we are going to be serving in the KY Conference. Actually, it is funny how people make so many ignorant assumptions about why we are going to go serve in KY. It truly is amazing.... We heard comments like, "Why are you running away from us?" or using the terms, "jumping ship", "deserting", "bailing"..... wow wow ....and to tell you the truth..the comments as innocent as they were, hurt.....

If God calls you into a life of ministry....and I believe that I abandon my life and family totally to God...and if God calls you to a certain calling (church planting) then I think if you are filled with any kind of wisdom...then you will not only accept that call, but follow in the leading of God into what ever situation He is calling you. Sometimes it maybe into a promise land...sometimes into a encampment of way more soldiers than God's people have...but you go none the less. You look at all the nay sayers and you say, "I think we can take them!.....with God on our side". All too often the United part of the Untied Methodist Church has been assumed, but when the rubber meets the road people tend to cling to "their land" or "their conference" but the truth is just like every pew and every local church it is all God's....and if God calls you out of "your" land and away from "your" people, "your" family....then you go...not excited about leaving...but in trust, hope, and faith.

Please make no mistake about it....we are following God's leading...and God's direction for our lives just so happens to be in Northern KY...where people need to live and experience God's grace and love, and the community that his presence provides in his church. My calling not unlike all Christians is to offer this holy community, this place of rest, comfort, challenge, and most of all love to those who are living lives with out this mysterious presence of a dead but still alive savior. To allow them to wrestle and soak in the mystery that is grace, life, and love to the fullest of their extent.

I and Tiffany go to follow Christ...to seek and save the ones searching for wholeness, to Florence, Union, and Highland Heights. To where the presence of God is needed and will be provided by those who desire to offer Him to anyone who will listen and question and grow......to live out our calling to empower others to become disciple making disciples with the help and grace of God (Father, Spirit, and Son).

This move is about calling, not running....and besides if it was about running I have a feeling God might just send a Whale to chew on us awhile until we see His direction and leading. We follow God out of love, not out of despise or regret.

I hope and pray that all of you who read this are following God's direction and leading for your lives! It is a nudging that will not only look "different" or "against the flow/norm" but crazy...and if it is done for the name and life of Christ to be lived out into this world and do it with fervor...grace, and most of all love.... to go into the mysterious love of God...because "I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39.

It is my prayer that all of you experience the love of Christ that is greater than anything, or anyone you have ever experienced....except Christ".

Ok, the soap box has been removed...I will try to remember to take more photos tomorrow so you can all see what an annual conference looks like....it really is not too bad...lots of worship and business...heh heh....yall take care and God bless ya! Please as always....KUTPs!!!!